STIMULATE YOUR MIND

My Blog

Letting go never seems easy. This is because we treat "letting go" as another task to do. We've become so enmeshed in the habit of doing that we mistakenly approach letting go in the same way. But you can't "do" letting go-however hard you try. It is our doing that is the problem. To let go we have to cease the "doing" of holding on. Letting go is allowing the mind to relax, accepting the present moment as it is, without resistance or judgement.

This is sometimes misinterpreted as accepting the world as it is, which can lead to a Pollyanna attitude of "everything is OK"; the world is perfect as it is. But there is a subtle, and crucial, distinction between accepting our experience of a situation and accepting the situation itself. Sadly, the world around us is rife with injustice, self-centredness and unnecessary suffering. No one, I hope, is proposing the kind of acceptance that says we can simply let such ills be. Accepting our experience of the situation, on the other hand, means not resisting what we are actually perceiving and feeling in the moment. There is nothing we can do to change our present experience. Wishing it otherwise is a pointless waste of time and energy. All it does is create additional discontent.

The most commonly recommended way to become more present is to bring our attention back to our physical experience, noticing how it feels to be a living being-the feelings in our bodies, the sensations of breathing, the air against the skin, the sounds around us. Our immediate sensory experience is always in the present moment. It is when we start thinking about our experience, what it means, and where it might lead, that our attention is drawn into the past or the future-and back into the world of samsara. The more often we can come back to the present moment, the more the mind is able to relax. When it is fully relaxed, totally at ease, we rediscover the mind in its natural, undisturbed state.

In Indian philosophy the profound and delightful ease of natural mind is called Nirvana. To many, the word conjures images of some blissed out, euphoric state of consciousness. But its original meaning is very different-and much more instructive. The word "nirvana" literally means "to blow out", as in extinguishing a flame. When we accept our experience of the moment, as it is, without lament or resistance, the flames of greed, hatred, jealousy and the many other unwelcome ramifications of our discontent die down; extinguished by a lack of fuel.

No longer blinded by self-concern, we are better able to see a situation for what it is. We are free from imagined lacks and needs and able to act in accord with what the situation requires. Whether it be helping others, righting injustices, working for some social cause, taking care of our health, raising children, whatever we choose to focus out energies upon, we can do so with greater commitment and deeper compassion.

We spend so much energy trying to find contentment in the world around us. If we spent a fraction of this energy allowing the mind to relax, letting go of some of our attachments, we would find more of the peace of mind that, in the final analysis, we all are all seeking. And the world around us would surely become a much better place.

So my main point here is to ask what are your thoughts about the nature of mind, are you open to its possibility? Or is it just another article of overlooked writing that deserves not to be given any attention.

My viewpoint is that it is very true indeed and perhaps it should be contemplated if you seek true inner peace, its always up to you.Im not claiming to be an exemple behind this contemplation. I only realize that it makes alot of sense.